Fighting dogs rescued in Pueblo may not be able to be rehabilitated

Pueblo Animal Services and Animal Law Enforcement impounded 19 dogs after an investigation of dog fighting in February.

Lieutenant Lindsey Vigna with Pueblo Animal Law Enforcement was there the day of the dogs were found saying it startling to see that many dogs in one place being used for sport.A month later, some of those dogs were able to return to their owners while others are still recovering from their wounds at Pueblo Community Animal Shelter. Vigna says, “what we are doing now is we are working to make sure that we are evaluating them medically and behaviorally.”

Four of the dogs are going to Boulder for special training to alleviate the aggressiveness. The others will be evaluated locally by All Breeds Dog Training executive director Lauren Fox to see what training programs they need to go to. Fox says, “We feel pretty confident that all of these dogs are going to need some level of behavioral modification and rehabilitation.”

It’s not just large dogs that are used in fights. Small dogs are also used as bait for the larger dogs. Astrid Tryon the owner and trainer at House of Dog Training says she has helped bait dogs in the past. “They are just afraid and will run away,” Tryon says, “with a slow patient approach they will be able to come back.”

However, even with training and extensive rehabilitation, these trainers say some of these dogs may never have a normal life. “There is always the chance that a particular dog has been so reinforced for fighting behavior that we have a hard time undoing that reinforcement history,” says Fox. Especially if dog fighting has been their whole life, “I don’t think a really aggressive dog that’s so far gone, you probably won’t be able to completely rehabilitate it,” says Tryon.

There is still hope for these dogs, Fox says about 80 percent of fighting dogs taken in are able to get training to have regular lives. For the 20 percent, those dogs live the rest of their lives at animal sanctuaries and rescues.

Both Fox and Tryon agree that it doesn’t matter what the breed is, any dog can be trained to fight and be aggressive.